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Results tagged ‘ Danny Valencia ’

BALTIMORE — The Twins generally like to give everyone on their roster an opportunity to get playing time early in the season, and so there are two new faces in today’s lineup against the Orioles.

Sean Burroughs is getting the start at third base over Danny Valencia, while Luke Hughes, who is coming off a huge spring, gets the start at second instead of Alexi Casilla.

Joe Mauer is also getting his first start at first base, as Ryan Doumit is set to catch right-hander Anthony Swarzak. Swarzak, who posted a 4.32 ERA in 102 innings last year, is starting with Liam Hendriks out with food poisoning.

We’ll find out more about the decision to start Burroughs and Hughes from Ron Gardenhire later this morning.

Update: Gardenhire said the moves were done simply to get Burroughs and Hughes some playing time. He did say Valencia is continuing to work on his defense, but that wasn’t the reason why Burroughs made the start at third. Hughes also could get starts against lefties moving forward. Trevor Plouffe should be in the starting lineup tomorrow with Angels left-hander C.J. Wilson on the mound.

BALTIMORE — Twins manager Ron Gardenhire announced his lineup for Opening Day against the Orioles tomorrow at Camden Yards.

There were no surprises, but Ryan Doumit will be starting in right field over Trevor Plouffe, as Plouffe is starting the year in a super utility role.

And Justin Morneau will start the year as designated hitter with rookie Chris Parmelee getting his first Opening Day start at first base.

Gardenhire also said his two main setup relievers will be left-hander Glen Perkins and right-hander Jared Burton. He also mentioned left-handers Brian Duensing and Matt Maloney as the two guys he’d look to first if he needs a reliever in the middle innings.

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Left-hander Francisco Liriano tossed five no-hit innings and the Twins allowed just one hit in a 10-0 win over the Pirates at Hammond Stadium.

The Twins improved to 10-8 with the victory, and make the short trek to JetBlue Park to face the Red Sox on Monday at 12:35 p.m. CT.

What went right: Liriano looked the best he has all spring, walking just one and striking out six over five no-hit frames.

So far, Liriano has struck out 18 and walked just two in 13 Grapefruit League innings. It’s a great sign for the Twins, who need him to pitch like he did in 2010 after struggling last season with a 5.09 ERA.

Jeff Gray, Sam Deduno and Casey Fien also threw no-hit innings, while Luis Perdomo served up the Pirates’ lone hit in the eighth inning. Brandon Boggs picked up the one single with one out in the eighth, but was thrown out by Brian Dinkelman while trying to advance to second base.

The offense also looked good with 13 hits and 10 runs, as they scored five runs in both the second and seventh innings.

Jamey Carroll, who entered hitting just .043 this spring, went 2-for-3, including a two-run double down the right-field line in the second inning. Brian Dozier hit his first homer of the spring to lead off the seventh, while Ray Chang added a two-run double.

Alexi Casilla, Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Trevor Plouffe and Joe Benson each picked up an RBI on the afternoon.

What went wrong: Not much, considering the Twins outplayed the Pirates in just about every aspect of the game.

Mauer and Morneau combined to go 0-for-5 but both had RBI groundouts in the second inning with the infield playing back. Danny Valencia went 0-for-3, including a strikeout to end the first inning with the bases loaded.

Perdomo gave up the lone hit by the Pirates, but didn’t allow a baserunner to reach, as Boggs was thrown out at second.

What they said: “I said all right, I’m going to go home and hit my dog. And he goes, your dog doesn’t have anything to worry about, you won’t be hitting it too hard,” Carroll said about a funny exchange he had with Twins manager Ron Gardenhire earlier this week after another hitless game. “I needed to hear that, so it was good. I don’t have a dog, so all the animal-rights activists, it’s just a joke. But you need to hear that. You get frustrated. You want to contribute, especially on a new team. You want to play well, and I think it’s a matter of just trying to relax a little bit and let it come.”

What’s next: Right-hander Jason Marquis is set to make his fourth Grapefruit League start on Monday against the Red Sox at 12:35 p.m. CT at JetBlue Park. Marquis has allowed nine runs over 8 2/3 innings this spring. Right-handers Alex Burnett, Jared Burton, Anthony Swarzak and Jeff Manship are also scheduled to pitch for the Twins.

Injury update: Right-hander Scott Baker (elbow) faces a big test on Monday, as he’s slated to throw a bullpen at the club’s Spring Training complex before they travel down the road to play the Red Sox. Baker is expected to ramp up his intensity after throwing at about 75 percent on Saturday. … Outfielder Trevor Plouffe exited Sunday’s game against the Pirates in the seventh inning with a strained right hamstring. It’s not serious but he’s expected to be held out through at least Wednesday.

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Twins are rolling out their expected Opening Day lineup against the Yankees today at Hammond Stadium.

One Twins pitcher joked that it didn’t surprise him that manager Ron Gardenhire waited until the club played the Yankees to unveil his “A” lineup. So it’ll certainly be interesting to see if they can put some runs on the board, as the offense has mostly struggled so far this spring.

The game, which will be televised on FS North and MLB.TV at 12:05 p.m. CT, will also be a good test for right-hander Nick Blackburn, who is making his Grapefruit League debut.

Blackburn has looked good so far in two “B” games — throwing three scoreless innings against the Red Sox — so we’ll see how he does against a Yankees lineup that includes veterans such as Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson, Nick Swisher and Raul Ibanez.

UPDATE: That didn’t last long. The Twins announced that Denard Span is out with neck stiffness. Joe Benson replaced him and is batting eighth. Ben Revere moves up to leadoff. The updated lineup is below:

BRADENTON, Fla. — Danny Valencia helped the Twins get out of their offensive slump with a three-run homer to lead the Twins to a 4-2 win over the Pirates on Saturday at McKechnie Field.

The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for the Twins, who improved to 4-5 in Grapefruit League play.

What went right: Valencia looked good at the plate, hitting an opposite-field double in the fifth inning off Jo-Jo Reyes before crushing a three-run shot off Reyes in the sixth.

The homer was set up by a two-out walk from Josh Willingham and a single from Justin Morneau. Morneau, who served as designated hitter, went 1-for-4 at the plate, including a deep fly ball to center field in the first. Willingham went 1-for-2 with a walk.

“They’re doing fine,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said of the relievers in camp. “We’re just looking at different guys. We see some guys we like a little bit. We like their arms. We see the ball coming out, but still, they’ve only been out once or twice. I think, let’s give them a couple more times out and see where we’re at.”

What went wrong: Doyle didn’t have his best stuff, as he allowed two runs on seven hits — including three doubles — and a walk over 2 2/3 innings.

Doyle, a Rule 5 Draft pick who must remain on the active roster all season or be offered back to the White Sox, didn’t exactly help his case to make the club. It was also Twins manager Ron Gardenhire’s first time seeing him pitch.

And while Valencia certainly had a good day offensively, the rest of the Twins combined for just four hits — singles from Willingham, Morneau, Rene Rivera and Alexi Casilla.

Also, despite 14 hits, including a homer from Oswaldo Arcia and two doubles from Chris Parmelee, the Twins also lost 8-2 in a “B” game to the Pirates earlier in the day. Scott Baker pitched in two innings, but recorded just four outs, surrendering six runs (five earned) on six hits, including a two-run homer by Matt Hague.

“Baker was not very good at all,” Gardenhire said. “He got beat around pretty good. He threw the ball. We’ll see how he does from there. Maybe that “B” game format, he might need a little more preparation than that riding the bus and all that trying to pitch. He didn’t react well to that.”

What they said: “We had two good ballgames today,” Gardenhire said. “We had 13 or 14 hits in the first one, then out here today we came up with some big hits too. A better day.”

What’s next: Right-hander Nick Blackburn is set to make his Grapefruit League debut on Sunday against the split-squad Yankees at 12:05 p.m. CT at Hammond Stadium. Blackburn has tossed three scoreless innings in two “B” games against the Red Sox this spring. Brian Duensing, Liam Hendriks, Jeff Manship, Tyler Robertson, Brendan Wise and Deolis Guerra are also scheduled to pitch for the Twins. Right-hander Phil Hughes is slated to start for the Yankees.

He’s scheduled to have an MRI tomorrow morning, and we should get the results by tomorrow night or Monday morning, according to Twins general manager Terry Ryan.

The Twins are hopeful he just broke up some scar tissue — similar to what Joe Nathan experienced last year before he came back even stronger after a stint on the DL — but considering his injury history, there’s a reason to be concerned. Worst-case, Zumaya will need Tommy John surgery, which he’s never had done despite his lengthy list of injuries.

Speaking of Tommy John surgery, Twins GM Terry Ryan shared some positive news about prospect Kyle Gibson, who had the surgery done on Sept. 7. Ryan said he expects Gibson to be back in action this summer, which means he’s recovering at a good rate considering most pitchers need about 12 months to come back after the surgery.

“He’ll pitch this summer,” Ryan said. “I think we anticipate him pitching this summer. In fact, I don’t think, I know. It’s not anything different than the schedule.”

Other notes from today:
– The Twins are trying to get Ben Revere to bunt more this year, as he squared up to bunt just 15 times last year in 481 plate appearances, recording four hits and three sacrifices. He’s been working with Jerry White and Rod Carew to improve his technique.

– Former shortstop Trevor Plouffe is working out with the outfielders, as he prepares to become the club’s fourth outfielder. He’ll also get some work in the infield soon, but the Twins are more worried about getting him comfortable as a corner outfielder.

– Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said he’s impressed by Danny Valencia so far in camp, as he worked hard to improve his fielding. “He’s way better,” Gardenhire said. “He’s bent over, he’s going to the ball low. As he told me, that was an adjustment. That was a big adjustment for him, because he’s so used to standing up and going after a ball and having to go all the way back down to the ground.”

– Ryan praised both catcher J.R. Towles and infielder/outfielder Steve Pearce, as they were both former top prospects with the Astros and Pirates, respectively, before signing Minor League deals with the Twins this offseason. Towles will get a fair shake to battle Butera for the third catcher spot, while Pearce will get a shot as a utility player who could see time at first base, outfield and third base.

– Alexi Casilla is bothered by a sore calf, but has been participating in the workouts with no problems. Luke Hughes, who has a strained right shoulder, still can’t throw yet, but has been fielding grounders all over the infield.

Here’s video of Zumaya throwing to Justin Morneau shortly before his injury.

And here’s photos from today’s workouts, including of Zumaya before his injury:

Twins third baseman Danny Valenica and catcher Drew Butera are headed to Taiwan to play against the Chinese Taipei national team in the 2011 Taiwan All-Star Series early next month.

Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association announced today the majority of the team of MLB All-Stars traveling to Taiwan in November.

The Taiwan All-Star Series will consist of five games played between Nov. 1-6 in three different cities — New Taipei City (XinZhuang Stadium) on Nov. 1, Taichung (Intercontinental Stadium) on Nov. 3 and 4 and Kaohsiung (Chengcing Lake Stadium) on Nov. 5 and 6.

Each game will feature MLB All-Stars playing the Chinese Taipei national team and all games will be broadcast live in Taiwan by FTV, MLB’s exclusive over-the-air broadcaster for regular season and postseason games.

Valencia is one of three third basemen on the roster, joining Arizona’s Ryan Roberts and San Francisco’s Pablo Sandoval. Valencia, 27, hit .246 with a .294 on-base percentage and a .383 slugging percentage with 15 homers and 72 RBIs in 154 games.

Butera, 28, joins Angels backstop Jeff Mathis as one of two catchers on the roster. Butera batted .167/.210/.239 with two homers and 23 RBIs in 93 games.

The roster is headlined by Yankees center fielder Curtis Granderson — who led the Majors in runs scored (136) and ranked second in the Majors with 41 home runs — and his teammate Robinson Cano, who was second in the American League with 118 RBIs. Tigers first baseman and AL batting champion (.344) Miguel Cabrera, currently playing in the American League Championship Series, will make the trip subject to his postseason commitments.

SAN FRANCISCO — Third baseman Danny Valencia, who missed Sunday’s game against the Padres with soreness in his throwing arm stemming form a throw on Saturday, makes his return to action tonight against the Giants.

Joe Mauer is also back behind the plate after serving as designated hitter in Sunday’s game.

Also make sure to tune into SportsCenter on ESPNews at 8:40 p.m. CT, as I’ll be be calling in to talk about the Twins.

MINNEAPOLIS — Danny Valencia is out of the lineup today against the Padres with soreness in his right arm stemming from a throw in the eighth inning of yesterday’s 1-0 win.

Valencia originally felt the soreness in his right biceps, but it moved to his triceps on Sunday. He said he remains hopeful he’ll return to action on Tuesday in San Francisco after Monday’s off-day.

“Actually it feels a lot better than I thought it would feel,” Valencia said. “It’s more in my triceps than my biceps right now. So it’s really day to day.”

Joe Mauer is in the lineup, but not at catcher, as he’s serving as the designated hitter and batting third. Matt Tolbert is starting at third base in Valencia’s absence, and Rene Rivera, who has worked well with Francisco Liriano recently, is behind the plate.

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